Thomas Cook Airlines is to launch services to Orlando, Cancun and Las Vegas for the summer peak in 2015, making it the only airline to offer a long-haul programme from the airport.

Last year, Thomas Cook Airlines announced that from this June it will operate two aircraft from Stansted – using the larger Airbus A321, replacing the existing A320 – bringing an increased number of flights and holiday destinations.

With long haul flights on a larger Airbus A330, the additional flights in 2015 will begin on the weekend of Friday, July 17, with two flights a week to Orlando and one each per week to Cancun and Las Vegas. The programme will continue until August 17, 2015, with a total of 15 flights being operated in all.

Christoph Debus, chief executive of Thomas Cook Airlines, said: “It’s great news that we are able to continue to grow our partnership with London Stansted and it’s even better news for holidaymakers in the East and South East of England as they can now fly long haul from their local airport.

“With yet more flights travelling further afield, to popular long haul resorts, we’re looking forward to building on the continued success of our Stansted fleet, meeting the growing demand from the region for more choice from airlines operating from the airport.”

Stansted Airport’s managing director, Andrew Harrison, said: “We’re delighted Thomas Cook Airlines are the first airline to announce new long-haul connections from Stansted when they launch services to Orlando, Cancun and Las Vegas from next summer.

“Stansted already has an unrivalled network of European destinations but today’s announcement demonstrates our drive to improve services and expand the range of destinations we offer.

“This is yet another vote of confidence by Thomas Cook Airlines, who are already expanding this summer with eight new routes using larger aircraft. Thomas Cook Airlines recognise our untapped potential and what a great airport Stansted is for passengers travelling to and from London and the East of England so the development of all these new services is not only great news for Stansted, but great news for the wider region.

“This news continues the positive evolution of Stansted under MAG ownership and we look forward to giving Thomas Cook Airlines our full support as they develop these new connections which I’m sure will prove very popular with our passengers.”

From June next month, Thomas Cook Airlines will serve 18 destinations from Stansted, with more than 150,000 passengers each year flying with the airline from the airport.